Finance
Impressive bowling performances, particularly by pacers, enabled West Indies beat India by four runs in the 1st T20I to grab a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at Brian Lara Stadium on Thursday.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, India’s bowlers put in an excellent collective performance to restrict West Indies to 149/6 in 20 overs. West Indies’ leading scorers were captain Rovman Powell (48) and Nicolas Pooran (41) as other batsmen were unable to stay on the crease for long.
Yuzvendra Chahal (2/24), Arshdeep Singh (2/31) both took two wickets for India, while skipper Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav each took one.
Indian openers Ishan Kishan (6) and Shubman Gill (3) were down cheaply inside the first five overs while chasing a tough score on a bowler-friendly wicket. At 28-2 in 4.5 overs, India was in serious trouble, but Suryakumar Yadav (21 off 21) and debutant Tilak Varma (39 off 22) came together to save the innings.
Despite playing his debut match for India, Tilak did not appear to be under any strain and produced several spectacular shots. Suryakumar, on the other hand, wasn’t speaking fluently, but he was providing adequate support from the other end.
Jason Holder, who removed Suryakumar in the ninth over, broke the partnership. Tilak was also out to Romario Shepherd in the next over, bringing India’s total to 77-4 after 10.6 overs.
Hardik Pandya (19 off 19) and Sanju Samson (12 off 12) then stabilized the innings and stitched a 36-run partnership before both were out in the same over — the 16th of the innings — as the game moved back in West Indies’ favor.
Axar Patel’s 13 off 11 gave India some hope, but he was out on the first ball of the 19th over. Arshdeep Singh maintained India in the run chase with two boundaries during his cameo (12 off 7) before being caught in the second last delivery of the session, as India were eventually reduced to 145-9 in 20 overs, falling four runs short.
Obed McCoy (2/28), Jason Holder (2/19) and Romario Shepherd (2/33) were the most successful bowlers for West Indies.
Earlier, West Indies got off to a good start, with opener Brandon King smashing the first four overs before Chahal’s twin strike doomed the hosts.Chahal dismissed both openers Kyle Mayers and David King in rapid succession, reducing the hosts to 30/2 in five overs. Then Pooran arrived and began with a respectable boundary followed by a stunning six, bringing the power-play total to 54-2.
Kuldeep stepped into the attack in the eighth over and bowled Johnson Charles, who miscued the slog sweep and the ball was in the air for an extended period of time. Tilak Verma, making his debut, sprinted across to his left from deep midwicket, sliding through to collect a wonderful catch.
West Indies were 69/3 at the midway mark, thanks to Indian spinners keeping the host’s run rate under control. Powell then went for a couple of boundaries to add important runs to the board.
Kuldeep bowled a brilliant googly in the 14th over, creating an opportunity to dismiss Powell, but the Windies captain survived when Shubman Gill dropped the ball. Pandya, who stepped in to bowl in place of Chahal, managed to dismiss the well-set Pooran for 41 in the very next over.
Shimron Hetmyer followed with a boundary, and Powell closed the over with a maximum. West Indies passed the 100-run threshold with 11 runs off the 15th over.
In the next two overs, Powell went for a few huge hits. Previously, Arshdeep struck in the penultimate over and knocked Hetmyer out for ten. He removed the dangerous-looking Powell for 48 in the same over, denying him a fifty.
Mukesh began the final over impressively, bowling four consecutive singles before conceding a no ball, but he proceeded to bowl with discipline as West Indies were dismissed for 149/6 in 20 overs.
Brief Scores: West Indies 149 for six in 20 overs (Rovman Powell 48, Nicholas Pooran 41; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-24, Arshdeep Singh 2-31) beat India 145 for 9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 39; Jason Holder 2-19) by 4 runs.
